At Think Yellow we envision a world where gender is no longer a question. And to get there, we believe Gender Lens Investing is the most efficient tool. So, we have made it our mission to drive investments toward

advancing gender equality.

Solutions

Impact

Return

Gender Lens Investing is the deliberate incorporation of gender factors into investment analysis and decisions.

We give presentations and offer workshops to inform you about Gender Lens Investing. We also work in close collaboration with like-minded partners on the same journey towards gender equality.

Advocacy

We aim to make Gender Lens Investments more accessible by co-creating investable vehicles with leading financial institutions. Our goal is to make investment solutions available that correspond to your values.

Co-creation

We lend an ear to those who wish to address gender inequality and who are tired of talking. We act as a go-between, connecting you to relevant partners, so that you can make a difference through Gender Lens Investing.

Listen & Connect

What we do

Enable people to invest with a Gender Lens

Co-created Gender Lens Investment products

This is the first pension product of its kind. Baloise has embraced this new investment theme and supports our mission in making more investable solutions for people who want to make a difference while receiving a return.

“The Portfolio Yellow Equities is of dual interest to our customers: On the one hand, an attractive investment opportunity within private pension planning, and on the other hand, the participation in companies that promote and perform well on Gender Equality” - Mario Neuhäusler, Produkt Manager Leben at Baloise.

Includes 7 global stocks, which gained top grade points on Equileap’s data set.

Think Yellow tracker certificates issued by Julius Baer.

In developing these Gender Lens Investment solutions, we partner with Equileap, a leading research organisation on gender equality in the workplace, with a mission to accelerate change, by evaluating public companies on gender equality criteria and making data, rankings and tools available to companies and investors. Equileap maintains a database of over 3,000 public companies from 23 developed countries which are ranked in terms of gender equality according to 19 criteria, grouped in four categories:

We utilise Equileap’s data to identify the underlyings for the products taking all criteria into account, and with the aim to offer a broad, sound view on the gender equality performance of companies of interests.

For us, equality means business. In pursuit of our vision, we are working hard to push Gender Lens Investing to the forefront to give you, our purpose-led clients, the opportunity to drive change.

Think Yellow Insight Articles

According to latest WEF report on the global gender equality in the workplace, efforts to achieve parity have actually gone into reverse. Is this a case of ‘regress to progress’ or do we just not know where to begin?

Sadly, rather than it shrinking, the economic gender gap — which considers women’s labor force participation, wage equality, and professional leadership — continues to widen. While many countries worldwide have made significant progress towards gender equality in recent decades, particularly in education, health and female workforce participation, the gender gap in the workforce is still prevalent. Women continue to earn less than men, are less likely to advance their careers as far as men, and accumulate less retirement or superannuation savings. At the same time, men have less access to family-friendly policies such as parental leave or flexible working arrangements than women.

The barriers

Establishing gender equality in the workplace does not necessarily mean achieving outcomes that are exactly the same for both men and women. Rather, it’s about creating an environment where people are able to access and enjoy the same rewards, resources and opportunities regardless of gender. This sounds fair and reasonable to just about everyone, so what’s holding us back?

Understanding the barriers and what it’s going to take to weaken them may already be a step in the right direction. Sociologists who study inequality often recognise three main barriers to achieving equality among any social group: systemic, cultural and corporate culture inequality. Systemic inequality refers specifically to the inequalities that are rooted in our government institutions and systems. Systemic inequality influences social, political and economic organisations because it is enforced through our laws systems, public policies, statutes, and so on. Cultural inequality happens on an individual level as people make decisions associated with the equality imbalances in our laws, systems and institutions, as well as in the habits and values passed down from generation to generation. And lastly, corporate culture inequality means that there is an imbalance in the values, beliefs and attitudes that characterise a company. Inequality, in this case, is most likely embedded in the governance, strategy and corporate responsibility standards that define a company’s culture.

Achieving gender equality requires breaking down all three of these barriers – a real challenge, no doubt. The first step is acknowledging that such barriers exist. We then need to accept that gender equality is important for the workplace not just because it’s ‘fair’ or ‘the right thing to do’, but because there is a clear link between a country’s economic progress and a company’s overall performance. In the end, how well we combat gender inequality will come down to how we implement structural change at a governmental, cultural and corporate level.

The truth is, it may be a long and arduous trek to get back on the main track if we continue to overlook the barriers. We definitely have our work cut out for us, but where there’s a will there a way. Turning to the world’s most gender-equal countries and companies for inspiration would be good place to start.

People, organisations and articles that inspired us

MSCI, Women on Boards (Sep. 2015), Companies in the MSCI World Index with strong female leadership generated a Return on Equity of 10.1% per year versus 7.4% for those without -- between Dec. 2009 and Aug. 2015.

Peterson Institute for International Economics, Is Gender Diversity Profitable?(Feb. 2016), The results suggest that the presence of women in corporate leadership positions may improve firm performance significantly.

Gender diversity, as a financial consideration for investors, is accelerating. This is driven by a growing body of research that shows increased diversity and a more inclusive workforce can be attributes of strong performance, as well as by a desire from asset owners to use their financial resources as a tool to drive social change and greater gender equality.

Investing implies your capital is at risk. The value of your portfolio depends on market fluctuations and you may get back less than you invest. Past performance is not an indicator of future performance.